


tell me where you'd like to go

by geunyang



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, also kind of whipped for san, and kind of whipped for wooyoung, san is kind of a shy bean, wooyoung is a feisty bean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22601740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geunyang/pseuds/geunyang
Summary: san is obsessed with 8m1t's coffee. they make some mean coffee.they also have a mean barista there, too, but, ah - that's not why he frequents there a lot... is it?
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung
Comments: 3
Kudos: 175





	tell me where you'd like to go

**Author's Note:**

> songs mentioned that you might or might not know:
> 
> debussy - clair de lune  
> ludovico einaudi - nuvole bianche
> 
> so that you wont get too confused, hehe. listen to it to get more emotional.  
> this fic is bad, read it at your own risk sjsfjfdkf. also, babie wooyoung curses a little. just a little.

the bell tinkles as he pushes the door open, notifying everyone his presence. he gulps, rearranging himself (patting the wool sweater he's wearing frantically) before marching towards the counter.

the barista notices him; sets aside the glass he was cleaning and gives san his full attention.

calm. be cool. "t-the usual." _damn it_.

_ding ding ding_ , the barista clicks away on the buttons of the cashier. "the usual price," he says coolly.

"ah," san fumbles through his jeans pocket. he has already prepared the exact amount of cash to pay for his coffee, no change needed. he hands them over to the barista.

"san-ssi?" the barista asks, head slightly tilted to a side. san's heart does a little somersault inside his chest, "yes?"

he shakes his head, his dark hair floofing around following the motion. "just checking if i remembered your name correctly," he retreats from the cashier to make san's drink and the latter slouches his back in relief. he places a hand on the counter for support, both mentally and physically. 

_you did well,_ he praises himself. _you did not embarrass yourself yet_ -

"san-ssi," the barista calls out. startled, san straightens his back, looks over the gigantic coffee machines and finds the barista working around them seamlessly. "no whipped cream, right?"

"y-yeah," the barista nods. he whips up san's drink pretty fast and caps it, hands it over to san with an expression that can only be described as deadpan. and san adores that look. he thinks his irises are shaping into loving hearts as he looks at the man in front of him so he quickly shakes his head, chastising himself internally.

the barista looks at him weirdly. "you do that a lot, san-ssi."

san giggles, trying to laugh it off. "i-i gotta go. duties and stuff, bye wooyoung-ssi!"

he runs off at lightning speed with his coffee in hand, face ablaze, leaving a surprised barista rooted at his spot.

—

20 hours later, san is back at 8m1t. this time, he has brought along a friend as moral support.

"that the cutie you talk about every second?" yunho gestures toward the black haired barista who is definitely having a jolly time (no, he's not) trying to decode what the kid is trying to say. the mother of the kid is standing beside him, nodding approvingly. wooyoung couldn't look more dead than he is right now.

"yeah," comes san's belated reply. yunho hums, turns around to look for seats to settle down. "that looks like a cue for you to jump in. just get me an americano."

_alright._ san stretches his arms, mentally preparing himself. _this is going to be easy_. he's going to save wooyoung, expel the villains and receive praise from none other than wooyoung himself.

no biggie.

he walks toward the counter. suddenly it's a yes biggie.

"ma'am, i have no idea what the fuck your son just said. can you help him repeat that?"

the woman lets out a loud gasp, utterly horrified. "how dare you say that word!" she covers her son's ears... but it's a little too late for that. the son, on the other hand, looks unbothered. he just wants his _[insert drink's name]_ that he is unable pronounce.

"excuse me," san raises his hand but then puts it back down, feeling a little dumb when wooyoung, the woman and her son turn to look at him. he clears his throat, "i think it's best if you repeat your order for your son ma'am. that way wooyoung-ssi here can get to work a little faster...?"

"are you telling me my son is incapable to speak properly? that wooyoung-ssi here can't even understand?"

"ah, that's not what i meant -"

"i'll have you know that my son had the highest score -"

" _i don't care,_ " says san icily with a smile. he sees wooyoung widening his eyes and that only urges him to continue on, "you're holding up the line and _i'm_ trying to order here."

taken aback at both the drastic change of tone and demeanor, the woman quickly picks up her child into her arm and flees out of the coffee shop.

then, silence.

"well," wooyoung starts, looking at san as if he just grew out a third eye. san shrinks under his gaze, feeling a little embarrassed all of the sudden. he hears someone snorting, and he is 99% sure that is none other than yunho, the bastard.

"you get that a lot?" when wooyoung doesn't reply him, he quickly adds, "that type of customers, i mean."

"oh, yeah," wooyoung answers, understanding the question. "definitely. people really like to bring shame upon their family these days." he harumphs, a pretty little tsundere act that has san on the tip of his feet, swooning. he pats his cheek, internally reminding himself to stay sane.

"your order!" wooyoung realises when he remembers san did not only come here to chase the annoying lady away. now he's the one that looks embarrassed. "the usual?"

san _coos_. "that, and an iced americano,"

"noted," wooyoung bites his lip, keying in the order received while his eyes flicker to and fro from san. san notices it, and makes a questionable hum.

wooyoung takes a while to gather himself. "thanks," he stutters out, the apple of his cheeks reddening slightly, "for... you know. _that_ , i guess,"

he's speaking in broken sentences, but san understands him perfectly. when san thinks wooyoung could not get any cuter, he gets _cuter_. it's like wooyoung is on a mission to prove him wrong whenever he settles on a conclusion. he feels light, like he is walking on clouds, completely blissed out.

"don't mention it," san beams.

—

san comes back to 8m1t the next day, and this time, he embarrasses himself really badly.

a girl with short bob hair goes into the coffee shop before him. he thinks the girl will hold the glass door open for him because, well, she has to, right? he is right behind her.

he is so, so wrong. he bumps into the glass door, _hard_. his head spins as he stumbles back and squeezes his eye shut at the pain; he's pretty sure everyone inside the coffee shop is probably laughing at him, including wooyoung -

san barely opens his right eye, and sure enough he sees wooyoung's silhouette heaving back and forth behind the counter, laughing squeakily.

san takes a long while to collect himself - both from the pain and his wounded pride - before finally stepping into the coffee shop. the smell of coffee beans does not ease his beating heart, but wooyoung's smile does. it almost stops his heart from beating, actually.

"yah," wooyoung starts, out of breath, "that was the funniest thing i've ever seen! are you ok? you still want the usual?"

"the usual," san squeaks.

"im sorry for laughing. nothing interesting ever happens here, so," wooyoung reaches from one end to another to get the necessary items and starts to mix san's drink. in san's eyes, wooyoung simply looks like he's in his element, dancing. he also doesn't sound apologetic at all but san could never hate him.

but one thing catches his attention. "im... interesting?" not him, perhaps, but his embarrassment. 

"yeah," wooyoung hums, "you come here everyday, well, when _im_ here you're always here -" san swallows hard, " - i dont know, is the coffee really that good? you're drinking the same thing every time,"

"absolutely," san rushes out. wooyoung stares at him, stunned. "the coffee you make is great. i like it..."

wooyoung is silent for a while. san on the other hand is panicking a little, because that kind of sounds like a confession, not really, but borderline - he thinks he has overstepped a boundary.

the barista glances behind san. seeing there's nobody else in line, wooyoung looks at san. _really_ looks at him. "you've worked here before. hongjoong hyung told me." he caps the drink with a plastic lid, handing it over to san, "hyung said you're really good at it." _there's no way mine is good,_ is what san catches.

"i like it," san quickly says. he bites his lip, feeling a little nervous. "your coffee... sincerely."

both of them don't say anything for a while. they just stare at each other, atmosphere not exactly awkward, but calculating. san could almost feel the imaginary gears running inside wooyoung's head; the latter must be going through a small emotional rollercoaster ride because who says something like that aloud nowadays? 

then, wooyoung grins. a small one, a soft one; san is infatuated. the sun seems to be shining through the glass in all the right places on wooyoung today; the air around him even, feels like it is filled with fairy dust, circling him delicately. he is like a living _clair de lune_. 

"thank you," wooyoung brushes away a strand of stray hair, tucks it behind his ear. his earrings glisten in the light. "come again tomorrow, san."

—

and san comes again tomorrow. and the day after tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.

wooyoung anticipates san's arrival now, the latter can tell. he expects san to come into the coffeeshop no matter how late or how early. and san tries to accomplish that. eventually, he gets sick of drinking the same thing every day so sometimes he just stops by to say hi, maybe hang around for a while and get dazzled by how wooyoung looks so _good_ in his working attire.

they have delved into this sort of calm, friendly but flirty(?) relationship and san kind of likes it. on some days he'll get a little bold and brush the back of his hand against wooyoung's when san sees the other's hand placed on the counter. the barista will raise an eyebrow at that, but he will not say anything. san desperately hopes that it is an OK for him to go on.

on other days, when the coffeeshop is quiet with not much customers around, wooyoung gets playful. other than him there is also hongjoong and seonghwa who works there too but they seem to turn a blind eye to whatever stupidity wooyoung decides to do.

stupidity #1 is wooyoung inviting (forcing) san to get behind the counter and make some coffee. san yelps, turning to look at hongjoong but the older just waves him off, ignoring his pleading look. delighted, wooyoung wraps san up in a brown apron and stares at him expectantly.

"your bestest coffee," he blinks. "make it."

"hongjoong hyung -"

"don't mind him, he's fine with it." then, _then_ , wooyoung looks at san through his eyelashes. he blinks, _again_ , jutting out his lower lip for a small pout. his hand is on san's right arm and the latter is convulsing internally looking at wooyoung. there is no way wooyoung doesn't know what he is doing. "please?"

" _yes_ ," san breathes out, "i mean, yes." he coughs, throwing a quick look at hongjoong to make sure he's not being judged. he finds that the man has already retreated to somewhere else without woosan under the roof; it's just him and wooyoung behind the counter.

more aften than not, san finds himself behind the counter with wooyoung, churning out drinks for the latter. he feels like a worker there even though he is not; some customers who recognise him back then when used to work here even ask him to make drinks for them too, but -

he turns to face wooyoung, finds him looking so happy and pleased that san is here with him making coffee. it seems like the happiness cannot be contained within his expression alone that sometimes he swings his whole body around to express it and san thinks -

this is fine.

before san leaves that day, he finally gathers the courage to ask for wooyoung's number. wooyoung gives it to him rather willingly, even reminds san to text him as soon as he has the time.

san walks back home, feeling like he has won the lottery.

—

**san**

hey woo

  
**clair de woo**

?  
san?

  
**san**

yeah

  
**clair de woo**

omg finally  
we've known each other for so long   
but only exchanged contacts this   
morning

  
**san**

haha yeah sorry  
wanted to a long time ago

  
**clair de woo**

???   
long time ago?  
how long have u been staring at my ass

  
**san**

IM NOT  
i cant even see ur ass ure   
always standing behind the counter  
  
...  
ok yes

  
**clair de woo**

: )

**san**

ure kind of pretty too  
_[san has deleted this message]_

  
**clair de woo**

what  
UNDELETE THAT

  
**san**

its nothing  
see u tmr

—

san keeps his promise. seonghwa rolls his eyes upon seeing him stepping into the coffee shop. without a word, he pushes wooyoung to the counter and leaves for a 'bathroom break', dragging hongjoong along with him.

"hi," wooyoung greets, pleased that seonghwa has enough sense to leave them alone. san notices wooyoung has put on a little makeup today, the layered brown eyeshadow applied looking breathtaking on him. he doesn't know if he's doing it on purpose, but wooyoung keeps on fluttering his eyelashes at him.

"im just dropping by to say hi," san croaks out, a teeny bit hypnotised by how wooyoung's eyeshadow enunciates his eye shape. it's so _pretty_.

"bummer," wooyoung pouts, but doesn't throw a tantrum. they stay like that for a while, staring at each other until san can not take it anymore and makes up an excuse to go to the bathroom. wooyoung gestures toward the direction of the bathroom with his chin and san quickly runs for it.

he may have stayed a little longer in the bathroom than planned to air out his thoughts, because when he comes back out he sees that seonghwa has returned.

san does not mean to eavedrop, he admits. coincidentally, he just happens to be there when seonghwa pulls wooyoung to a side of the counter (the side closer to the bathroom exit). san thinks the older is taking advantage of his absence to talk about something because - well he's not out of the bathroom yet, seonghwa thinks, this is the perfect opportunity. san retreats back into the small hallway to the bathroom, hiding behind a wall. he peeks.

"he's like your boyfriend," seonghwa says, dead serious. 

"who?"

"what do you mean _who_? choi san!" incredulous, seonghwa lightly slaps wooyoung's cheeks. "he comes here _every. single. day._ you don't do that as a friend. you do that as a -" he prompts, urging wooyoung to finish his sentence but the younger refuses, already knowing where this is going.

"- _as a_ -"

"hyung, please shut up," wooyoung pleads.

"- as a _boyfriend!_ exactly!" concludes seonghwa. he raises his hand but stops midway, realising something. "scratch that, even couples don't go as far as san did. you see hongjoong over there?" both of them turn to look at the other man who is now staring right back at them in confusion from the counter, having heard his name being called. "i can count all the 'visits' he made with only one hand. _one_ ,"

"we work in the same coffee shop?" hongjoong says, taken aback but seonghwa is not having any of that. he commands hongjoong to get back to work and he does, sulking away quietly.

"my point is, he's gonna do it."

"do what, hyung?" wooyoung sighs, sounding exasperated.

"it's just a matter of time."

the conversation ends there. wooyoung, although a little baffled, gets back to work rather reluctantly. a customer comes over for an order and wooyoung goes immediately, serving them with well practised movements.

palms sweaty from gripping them too hard, san takes a deep breath and moves out of his hiding spot. he waves the three baristas goodbye - wooyoung, in particular, looking very, very confused that san is not staying for long - and makes his leave.

he's got something to do, after all.

  
—

**clair de woo**

today  
ure not coming  
?  
  


**san**

yeah sorry  
i have been piling up too much of   
my work  
i'll see u next mon though  
  


**clair de woo**

ok...  
finish them fast  
  


**san**

i will try  
stop being whiny  
  


**clair de woo**

shut the fuck up im not being whiny  
ure the whiny one  
  


**san**

ure absolutely right

wooyoung's reply to him is an emoji rolling his eyes, and that is almost five hours ago. the time is currently 10:32pm; san is lying down on his bed, his phone clutched in hand. he has not visited 8m1t for a week now and he doesn't know it would be this bad - not seeing wooyoung for seven whole days - it pains him. he misses wooyoung so badly but he is also trying his hardest not to text him back. he's afraid the more he talks to wooyoung, the more likely he is to spill his plans to the latter oh-so naturally, which is supposed to be a surprise.

surprise as in - well, yeah, confession.

last week, san had gathered yunho and mingi around at 12:17am for a group call and it is safe to say that both of them are of no use. they teased him non-stop throughout the group call and san threatened them several times that he was going to hang up if they did not provide any useful advice. at that, they just proceeded to guffaw loudly at san.

"yah, san-ah, san-ah!" mingi finally said through his guffaws when he felt that san was really about to hang up. "listen to me. you have to build up some tension,"

san perked up. "tension?"

"yeah. like, play hard to get, push and pull. they always do this in dramas -"

" - which leads to miscommunication and misunderstandings - " yunho deadpanned, but mingi was undeterred, " - and the satisfaction you get at the end is definitely worth it."

a pause. "satisfaction of what, exactly?" san asked.

"uh, satisfaction of wooyoung accepting you, duh!"

"you're saying as if wooyoung is reaaaally going to accept me." ah, there it was again, the devil called doubt.

"he will," yunho piped in when he noticed mingi wasn't going to say something. "i've seen the way he looks at you."

"and _i_ haven't?"

"that's because you're looking at him the way he's looking at _you_ ," there was a loud thud heard from the speaker. san figured it was yunho flopping himself onto his bed, probably feeling so done with him. he heard mingi's distant voice agreeing with yunho as well, even though mingi had not even seen wooyoung before.

"...worst case that could happen?" san squeaked.

"i'll bring mingi to your apartment and we'll cry together over three buckets of ice cream. problem solved? problem solved." with that, yunho hanged up without waiting for a response. mingi followed suit, but not before yelling a very encouraging 'fighting!'.

and that was how san ended up following mingi's not so useful 'advice'. he wonders how wooyoung will react when he shows up tomorrow at 8m1t. it's going to be a wonderful thursday tomorrow, hopefully; there is no way san is going to wait until next monday. if he's going to get rejected, might as well make it fast so he can get over it fast, right?

san takes a deep breath. should he get flowers? a bouquet of them? or chocolates? wait, does wooyoung even likes _either?_ he looks at his phone again, unlocking it and scrolls through the older chats he has with wooyoung. he smiles through some of them, mildly distracted and entertained.

so... tomorrow, huh?

  
—

  
**8m1t's**  
**thursday, 7am**

  
  
  
"wooyoung-ah, i think i dropped the keys on the way here," seonghwa squats down as he rustles through his bag. he looks up at wooyoung in silent panic.

"for real?" wooyoung stares at seonghwa in disbelief. usually the older is a really organised person - he cleans the floor of the coffee shop with a lint roller _twice_ , for heck's sake before opening. today though, he seems a bit strange.

and _suspicious_.

"i think there's a hole in my bag," wooyoung makes to snatch the bag to take a look at said hole but seonghwa's reflex is faster. "can you trace back the path we walked? i'm sure it's somewhere around there."

wooyoung squints his eyes. " _you_ go back and look for it. i'm not the one who -"

"quick, hongjoong is coming soon," seonghwa babbles, dropping his bag onto the floor to push wooyoung away from the coffee shop. wooyoung takes a quick look at the bag and there is definitely not a single hole there. "find the key for hyung, please. hyung will treat you some nice food later, ok? your favorite?"

"my favorite?"

"your favorite." seonghwa confirms.

satisfied with the deal made, wooyoung waddles off to find the lost key. just as he walks out of sight seonghwa reaches into his back jeans pocket and pulls out something that suspiciously looks like the lost key.

wooyoung _knows_ that seonghwa did not drop any key. for whatever reason seonghwa doesn't want him in the coffee shop just yet he doesn't know, but he does takes his chance to walk around leisurely just as seonghwa wants. 8m1t opens at 8am; they'd always arrive an hour earlier to sort out some unresolved mess left since yesterday, clean up the place and as well as double checking the coffee machines. wooyoung's out, and he does not need to do any of that so he's feeling quite content right now.

it seems like an unfair deal, wooyoung getting his favorite food later in exchange of finding the 'lost' key which is never lost in the first place.

wooyoung decides to walk back to the coffee shop after 15 minutes of lounging around. he thinks of san for a moment, briefly wondering if the man is going show up or not. he shakes his head soon enough, remembering that san is only going to come next monday. he has a lot of work piled up, after all -

wooyoung's phones buzzes inside his pocket. he reaches for it absentmindedly, thinking it's just seonghwa urging for him to come back. one look at the notification shown on his screen has him widening his eyes.

**nuvole sanche**

woo

he fumbles to unlock his phone, typing in something before stopping short. he waits a good three minutes to not appear so eager before sending his reply. he walks as he waits for san's reply, using his peripheral vision to steer clear of any poles or any people walking his way.

**woo**

? what  
  


**nuvole sanche**

ure at work?  
right now i mean  
  


**woo**

kind of  
seonghwa chased me out to find this key  
that he 'lost'  
he thinks im dumb  
  


**nuvole sanche**

hm  
woo  
  
u're like clair de lune

wooyoung halts in his steps, staring at the text. he's a little perplexed, but somehow weirdly flattered...? _clair de lune_ is a classical piece by debussy that no one in this world _not_ know. you may not know the name, but you know the tune, the _melody_. you've heard this piece somewhere, some time before, but you do not know the name.

wooyoung has an inkling on where this is heading for. he plays along.

**woo**

elaborate, san-ssi  
  


**nuvole sanche**

dont stop  
  


**woo**

??????  
  


**nuvole sanche**

keep  
keep walking

wooyoung _halts_. he looks behind him instinctively.

**nuvole sanche**

im not behind u  
...just keep walking  
i promise i wont scare u  
  


**woo**

u already kind of are  
  


**nuvole sanche**

woo pls  
ure almost there  
  


**woo**

where  
8m1t?

san stops replying. wooyoung is a little more than confused, but he decides to get to 8m1t as fast as he can. he pockets his phone and starts speed-walking.

his heart is beating wildly inside his ribcage. he kind of knows where this is going - _knows_ where this drift is taking him - adrenaline is pumping inside his veins as he starts walking faster and faster. he just hopes the build up of this relationship between him and san doesn't put him in a place so high that when reality comes crashing in, he goes plummeting down, down, down.

for a moment, he thinks, it's also kind of OK if he falls down. he asked for this. he wants to be close with san. he goes _crazy_ when san brushes his skin against his, even if it's just for a few seconds. he thinks san does too, because the latter is so bad at trying to 'accidentally' touch his hand. he is so bad at acting nonchalant when wooyoung catches the former looking at him.

and maybe wooyoung feels kind of scared when san stops visiting him for one day. then three days, then seven days. maybe, he read all of this wrong, and san dislikes him now. _does he ever like him?_ wooyoung has this thought rolling around at the back of his mind; negative thoughts always running a mile per hour. he feels san detaching himself when they chat through their phones and has never felt more bummed out. 

every time he wants to give up, is the time where san decides to reattach himself to wooyoung again. he should not feel like this but the fire in him reignites again; maybe, he is not misreading the signals. but it happens again. detach, reattach, detach, reattach.

the cycle repeats for one week.

wooyoung is a little worn out at this play san is giving, but he couldn't help but light up every time he sees _nuvole sanche_ gracing his phone notifications. it makes his day a little bit shittier, but also a tad bit better. almost like a sweet and sour candy. yeah, that's what san is.

wooyoung reaches the turning point of the sidewalk, his anticipation building up. he hopes, he desperately hopes that he's there -

he turns.

and he's there.

he's...

_he's there_.

"san," wooyoung breathes out.

san smiles, his dimples showing in full glory. there he stands in front of 8m1t, wearing a full blown suit, holding a small bouquet of delicately wrapped flowers. _at 7 in the morning._

he looks absolutely stunning, too stunning. he even has his hair gelled back, revealing his forehead.

"come closer, woo," san says in the softest tone with the most gentle smile. as if pulled by an invisible string wrapped around his torso, wooyoung does. before he even realises, they are face to face.

wooyoung could only stare at him, dumbfounded. "you look really dumb,"

san laughs, high pitched, "i knew you'd say that."

"who wears a suit to conf - " wooyoung looks away, the tip of his ears turning red, " - at 7 in the morning?"

"me. i do," san hands over the bouquet to wooyoung. the latter accepts, turning it around to inspect it. there's something embroidered on the wrapping paper - a phrase? or a silly 'go out with me', even? or -

  
_clair de woo._

  
it's so dumb. it's _so_ dumb.

but what can he do? wooyoung likes it _so much_. he thinks he's combusting from the inside; he's grinning so widely his cheeks hurt and san's mirroring him too, shyness radiating off of him in small, subtle waves. this is nice. _san_ is nice.

"nuvole sanche," wooyoung finally says, his face on fire. san tilts his head, addled. "that's what i think about when i see you." then, it clicks. they giggle, leaning into the other's warmth. san pinches wooyoung's cheek, a little endeared and pulls him into a hug. wooyoung snuggles into him shamelessly, but not before tucking away the bouquet of flowers at an angle where it will not get crushed.

san is sweating under his suit, but he thinks it's fine.

"dinner tonight?"

"i'd like that," wooyoung nods.

wooyoung thinks it's fine too.

**Author's Note:**

> in the end, wooyoung gets his favorite food and his favorite person.


End file.
